October 13 – Novermber 12, 2017

Here Is Why I Do Stuckism

Message delivered by fellow painter Alexey Stepanov from golden autumn Saint Petersburg to golden autumn Oswego—delivered in the time it took an alligator to blow a kiss from the swamp, and the bald eagle to feel the brush on her cheek in the cloud-hidden eyrie…

(I left translation perfectly imperfect!)

Dear Ron!

Here is the small letter, which my brother is capable to translate into some decent English (so the automatic google translation won’t leave any unclear spots and won’t make the whole letter awkward). And I can once again thank you for this marvelous exhibition, but this time not in the robotic manner – in, more or less, my human words. I would like to congratulate you once more with the successful and bright event, and once again I thank you and your wife for all of the efforts you’ve put into it. Perhaps, this result can be possible in that very place where patience, love for life and energetic work meet each other. We should take this as an example if we ever decide to make this kind of exhibition in St. Petersburg. We have never produced such an event, when a lot of small details – big, interesting and friendly venue, long duration of the exhibition, a lot of guests, interactive translation of the artist’s performance, etc. – were combined very succesfully. I’m not even talking about publishing the book dedicated to the exhibition with all of those great illustrations – We shall thank you once again for this in particular because none of us had this kind of experience. As i understand, they money you’ve sent us are were very handy for every member. Once again for your opened and friendly attitude to this moment and all of your actions to achieve this. I hope, selling the pictures was neither hard, nor time-consuming and this didn’t cause any inconvenience or fuzz for you (that could actually be caused in the worst case). Thank you once again for this. And also I would like to know which of my works didn’t make it and stay unsold. I’ll be happy to give them new life as your personal belongings and let them hang on your walls. Though I understand that you also still have Lena’s and Andrey’s paintings. I understand that there may be a lot of their painting left, that changes the situation significantly. Is there any place in your attic or garage to keep them? Either way, you can treat my work any way you want. I also hope that selling your book was as successful as selling the paintings and you were able to refund all of the expenses. All of us would like to see it, when there will be a possibility. I will be waiting for the parcel to at the most suitable time for you. I hope this parcel won’t make any holes in your pocket…

…I hope both your wife and you are satisfied with the results of our weird stuckism hanging in the exhibition in Oswego, and everything went smoothly, satisfying your expectations and not going out of the budget. I hope the sun is shining and it keeps you happy. It is getting colder in St. Petersburg and rain changes snow every day, but sometimes it is just snowing. Though, I reckon you would enjoy these landscapes if you are still planning to spend your vacation in Russia. Once again thank you for everything you’ve done in the recent times. Say hi to your wife and friends (as I understand, some of them decided to decorate their walls with our paintings). i would love to say hi ti them. Have a great and productive day.